The Rise and Rise of MSD

Chennai Super Kings

have had a great couple of years under the leadership of their charismatic captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, aka Mahi. Here is a man who captured the imagination of the country’s cricket lovers as soon as he landed on the international scene with his locks and hard-hitting batting.

Early Years
Dhoni was born on July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand to Pan Singh and Devika Devi. A natural sportsman, Mahi excelled in almost all sports at school. His first sport of choice was football. Dhoni, in fact, decided to specialize in cricket only at the age of 15.

His first step to reaching cricket’s pinnacle was when he was included in the Bihar U-19 team for the 1998-99 season. His team’s performance was not so good and he did not make the cut to the East Zone team. Bihar U-19 made it to the final of Cooch Behar Trophy the following season where Dhoni impressed with 84 of his team’s 357. But their opponents Punjab, who also featured Yuvraj Singh, made a mammoth 839 with Yuvraj making 358. Dhoni’s performance, although impressive, wasn’t standout but it earned him a place to play in the Ranji Trophy. He was just 18 at the time.

Since this start, Mahi has had an epic rise to the top; a journey that has had its ups and downs, heartaches and triumphs. After five years of playing First Class cricket, Mahi got a call to join India’s ODI squad in 2004/05 season after an impressive stint as wicket keeper in the India A team. His ODI debut was against Bangladesh and like many of his debuts, this was not a great one. He was run out on the first ball he faced, giving him a duck on debut.  Mahi was given another chance to play for India, this time, against Pakistan in the subsequent ODI series. In a match played at Vishakhapatnam, Dhoni came all guns blazing to make 148 in just 123 deliveries. It was the innings that marked a euphoric obsession with Dhoni and set in motion a juggernaut that has since been unstoppable.

The Rise
Mahi was named the Indian ODI captain in 2007. There were mixed reactions to this appointment. Some felt it would be hard for him to replace the big names before him while others felt that his age and connect with the youngsters in the team will be a great advantage. He soon disproved his critics with his mature and confident leadership. Under Dhoni, India won its first global title since 1983 – the Twenty20 World Cup when they beat Pakistan in a nail-biting final in 2007. His greatest moment though, was when he led India to the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup win beating Sri Lanka in the final. Dhoni led from the front with a knock of 91. His six to complete the win is now part of cricketing folklore.

Man for all formats
The IPL changed the face of cricket globally. MS Dhoni was the most coveted pick at the inaugural IPL auction in 2008 and was acquired by the Chennai Super Kings for a whopping US $1.5 million, making him the most expensive player of that season. It was an investment they did not regret as Dhoni led the Super Kings to win the tournament twice in 2010 and 2011. CSK is also the defending champion at the Champions League T20 and one of the most feared teams in T20 cricket.

Factoid
Dhoni’s hairstyle, in fact, was every young man’s envy and its wave of influence reached across the border as well! The then Pakistan president Parvez Musharaf even advised Dhoni against changing his hairstyle and labeled him the most stylish cricketer in the world. Although Dhoni has since changed his hairstyle and now sports a shorter hairdo, his style appeal remains intact.

Last Over!
MS Dhoni has evolved from a small-town budding cricketer to a global ambassador of cricket. He is widely regarded as the best cricket captain around and although he has had a rough time behind the stumps of late, there is no doubt that he will be around for a while to come mentoring the next generation of Indian cricketers.